It is a year later and we have the dreaded " soups for charity" again. This is in our Parish. Last year they had a Clam Chowder, I just smelled it and left and had a ana reaction.

My Husband is going to do all the inquiring about the soups for me. Last year I did not attend again until after they stopped the soups. Last year I did the asking about the soups. Did not work out to well for me...

My Nana is very close to me and helped raise me. So with the visiting and the decisions I have made about my Grandmother's Pallative Care. I can not take on anything else that is emontional. Especially if it brings the word Death to it :

I just wanted to share with people who have anaphylaxis about the fear of the Soups. I can not understand how people who see reactions can be this way about the seriousness of anaphylaxis.
Kelly

KellyFunny you mention soups. My husband was frying fish (tilapia) at the Church during Lent last year. I dropped my daughter off at the Parish Center so I could take my Mom back home. Was in there a total of about 5 minutes. Just long enough to get someone to find him in the kitchen, and say "hello" to a friend. Left immediately, as my Mom was waiting in the car. Was 20 min through town, when the flushing started. Increased heart rate...shortness of breath/tight chest..."feeling of doom (aura). Pulled off the Interstate and headed to the hospital. Stopped on the way to use the restroom at a grocery store, nearby. Took Benadryl and Prednisone. (My reactions are usually GI, wasn't considering the fish fry at this point.) Back on the road to the hospital. Cramps all the way to my bladder/uterus. Awful feeling...entered the ER. Escorted right back and monitored, since I had already taken meds. (They usually don't give me epinephrine because my heart rate is already 120 during a reaction.) My throat was not tight, this time, but this reaction felt pretty strong. I do not usually get hives during reactions to food, just IV contrast reagent.

While sitting in the ER, I started "charting my reaction." Writing down times of flushes, heart rate, what I had done that day, what I had eaten. (This way, I can tell if it is getting better or worse. The flushing usually gets further apart and my heart rate drops down below 80 if I'm not going to rebound. )I was trying to figure out what I had eaten that could have brought this on...then I realized it was being at the fish fry. I hadn't even been in the kitchen, but it still got me. They do serve clam chowder. I have tested stronger to shellfish, but am also allergic to fish.

I will be staying at home this year. Not going near the Family Center during Lent. (Fortunately, my husband has been travelling, so he hasn't been asked to help with the Fish Fry this year.)

depending on how the fish is cooked and all it generates more or less proteins in the air. Opening a can of tuna will not smell as much as zapping fish in a microwave for 5 minutes! The tricky part with fish is that it gets cooked and spreads more easily than say peanuts. You don't need to see the fish to react to airborne...

Hi Daisy and Mylene;
Thank you for the advice and for the understanding.
Daisy I am ana to all shellfish and a few fish bother me for example salmon.
I also get a aura with my reactions as you have said Daisy. Glad to hear some else describe it so well. It is hard to explain to people who do not have this.

Mylene I had wondered about the fish being stronger than peanut butter while air borne. I have always reacted to live lobster, had to leave our home and stay to over night when my Father had lobster. My Husband did check yesterday, and was told they are to be only vegetable soups. They still feel badly about last year (it was our 25th Wedding Anniversary the next weekend). I have made the Parish very aware of food allergies. My Husband said he will still check when we go there. Just to be safe.
Kelly

KellyTake and eat only your own soup. Just can't trust what "secret ingredient" others might use. I have avoided Worchestershire sauce (anchovies) since my RAST results a couple of years ago re-confirmed the fish/shellfish allergy. This is about the time my inhalant reactions started, so I started avoiding all my allergens, even though I had never had a confirmed reaction to some (ie: egg in baked goods and rye in wheat breads).

Today I was in the cafeteria at work. (We do not have food service anymore; just lots of refrigerators, vending machines and microwaves.) Went to lunch early to avoid crowds, did a quick sniff of the microwave to rule out seafood, and sat down away from others to enjoy my linguine alfredo. As I was eating I kept smelling something fishy or crabby at another table. Just a "whiff," had to smell it a couple of times before I realized what it was. I had not been sitting down more than 5 min, so I held my breath and high-tailed it outside! Had a "flush" as I was walking towards my car to finish lunch; heart rate went above 100. By this time, I was put-off on food, so I took my Benadryl and headed back to work (not through the cafeteria, of course). I alerted my co-workers, and a friend in particular who is also anaphylactic. Thanks Mylene for suggesting that we Epi-train our co-workers! What a lifesaver The reaction never progressed and my heart rate had dropped within the hour. I will be bringing a sandwich, and eating in my car from now on! What a pain...One of my friends later told me I was lucky I didn't go to the upstairs breakroom; it was full of fish and shrimp odor today (another Lenten Friday).

One thing I have found helps my reactions if someone is actively cooking seafood, is to get home and shower to get any residue off of me. One of my worst reactions last Spring was at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We were a party of 5, with only one other table in the place as it was early for dinner. I had not eaten anything, not even the chips, when they brought out the order of Fajitas two tables behind us. I started feeling unwell (aura) and went to the restroom. I felt like I was starting a reaction, but I hadn't eaten anything, yet! On my way back to the table I saw the order nearby was Shrimp and Steak Fajitas. I left immediately and went home to shower and take my meds.

Can't get away from the fish/shellfish. Our Wendy's hamburger place does not serve fish sandwiches and our pizza place is safe. But other than fast food, eating out is very difficult. Twenty years ago, almost no one served seafood, now it is a big seller. Even my safe steakhouse has shrimp-this and lobster-that. (Like I would have gone to a steakhouse to eat seafood way back when I still did!)

Sorry for the rant; it was a good day otherwise. Thankful the reaction stopped so soon.
Daisy

Daisy
That is really bad about your work enviroment. It is not pleasent to have to isolate yourself that way. I agree with Lisa; could they not eat fish or shellfish any other place.

I will not be eating any of the soups. I never eat out at all. My exposure last year was a inhaled reaction.
I eat only my homemade bread, jams, soups, main meals, basically every thing I eat. I have too many other allergies. As you said "what is the secret ingredient in some things..."?

Thanks for all the support. The information and ideas I have found on this site (just in the last 2 months) has been wonderful.
But the best part is definitely the support !

I work in a large lab facility, open 24/7. No way to censor all the food in such a large facility. I actually don't mind eating in my car; I listen to our local talk radio, which I usually don't get to hear during the day. We also have picnic tables on the patio outside. Fortunately, I do not have to deal with foods in my work area. No foods are allowed at all, not even chewing gum. (Safety issue.) I only take a 30 min lunch. I work PRN (as needed) during the time my daughter is in school, so it's not an everyday thing.

Worked today...no reaction. Grabbed a safe Wendy's hamburger in the car. But I went to feed my neighbor's cat while she is away and....SHEBA lobster or Sheba shrimp cat food was on the counter...I backed away as if it was a snake and sent a grumpy, but dear hubby to feed the cat. LOL. At least with food allergies, you're really kept on your toes.

I had a good time at my Parish and as always is my practice I came home to eat.
They are more aware of my inhaled reaction to shellfish. I was able to put a donation in the Pot for " the soups for charity ".
This felt very good ! Kelly

I am lucky that we are allowed food in my office as I do not know what I would do if it was banned ... I haven't seen what the cafeteria looks like in years (I hear they renovated recently ) and send co-workers down if I want chips or something from the vending machines. And so far, the fish ban on my floor has worked wonders as I can safely eat and work in my office.

I'm not that much into religion, but I hear it's because of that that we have what I call "fishy-Fridays" at the cafeteria... can't go against that , but you won't see me anywhere close to the elevators or others on Friday (except to come in and go out at the end of the day... I am above the 20th floor so no stairs for me no matter what! )

I'm new to the airborne reaction world--well, I've only been SFA for a little over a year. Now this. If I don't make it past the little shrimpy corner in my grocery store fast enough or if I'm in a restaurant and someone near me has been served shrimp, I often start to feel like my muscles have been deflated--that's the best description I can give. I was at a party at work, and I wasn't eating anything of course, but I was standing near the food, and I thought I was going to pass out. I was at an aquarium recently and felt the same way when I was near some of the open tanks. There was this combination of feeling like I had been deflated and feeling like I was going to pass out.

When I feel like this, I typically just have to leave the area and I'm fine. I've not medicated myself.

But the other day at the grocery store, I couldn't get out of the shrimpy area fast enough (and I really wasn't near the seafood, it's just the area between the produce and the bakery--if I can speed through it, I'm fine). But I couldn't get past these folks. I felt lousy the rest of the time at the store and even while I was in my car.

My ingestion reactions are GI--and I've had an ana GI--at least one of them, but probably two. I've also had non ana GI ingestion reactions.

But these airborne ones are strange. I don't know if I ever would actually pass out.

I feel that way! Mine is to airborne chicken, but starting to notice a bit of it when i walked through the fish thingy isle in walmart, where they have the fish food. It is a very weird feeling indeed.

I have had anaphylactic reactions just from inhalation, please be very careful, and as soon as you smell or feel weird get out of the place right away. If you feel close to even passing out make sure you tell someone. DO NOT BE ALONE. Even better, bring someone with you when you go to the grocery store. Also do not hesitate to use your epipen if you feel it get out of hand.

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